Dick Martin: What can you do with all that deer meat?

Ohio's deer gun season will begin on Nov. 26 and when it does, many thousands of whitetails will be killed.

Thousands more have already been bagged by archers or will be taken in muzzleloader season, so if hunters do their seeking in the right county, they just might bag up to four deer this year. And some will. Which means that a modest amount up to a lot of venison will be sitting in freezers around the state, and that brings the question for some "What will I do with it all?" And there are dozens of answers for that one.

For example, every deer I ever killed in-state or out, I donated some meat to making jerky, an ugly, black, but very tasty and sustaining trail food. It's easy to make and light to carry on hunts, hikes, or fishing trips. Native Americans had no way of keeping meat other than drying it, and they did so by cutting deer, buffalo, elk or other animals into thin strips, and drying them on horizontal poles in the sun and often above a smoky little fire. When it was dry enough to break rather than bend, they'd store it in skin sacks or pots for later use.

I cut mine into thin strips too, usually from neck meat, but sometimes steaks or roasts, and I cut it across the grain rather than with it, so it would be easy to chew off a bite. Then I removed all fat, arranged the pieces on a cookie sheet, and basted both sides with Worcestershire sauce and a light dusting of salt and fresh ground pepper, before placing the pieces on racks in my Little Chief smoker, adding a pan full or two of hickory sawdust to the little skillet below for a nice smoky flavor, and letting it dry. Nothing to it. There are lots of different small smokers in catalogs or sporting goods stores, and lots of other recipes for making the jerky. Experiment, then suit yourself.

A time or two I've made pemmican from some of the jerky, a truly sustaining trail food that could keep a Cherokee, Sioux, or other tribesman going for weeks. To make it they pounded the jerky into shreds, stirred in melted fat, and usually added berries of some sort. The well mixed result was pushed into cleaned animal intestines, and lightly smoked. I placed mine into sausage casings, smoked it, then froze them until needed.

There are plenty of other uses and recipes for venison. One year I killed a big, old buck, so old he had grey on his muzzle,. And knowing he'd be tough eating, I converted most of the meat into deerburger, and some into summer sausage and trail bologna. My favorite game processor made good eating of the last two, and I enjoyed both all winter and even gave some to friends and relatives as Christmas presents.

The deerburger was only lightly dosed with beef fat as per instructions to the processor, and using olive oil for cooking, my wife converted it into many a fine dish. Some went into deer patties and was eaten on buns with pickles, onions, and mustard. Sound familiar? Some went into sloppy joes, or chili, spaghetti, and stuffed peppers, anything that hamburger could be used for.

More became barbecue, pressure cooked steaks, roasts, etc. that were then doused with barbecue sauce. And some cooked with French onion soup (Really tasty). It's all good, and none need be wasted. Just let your imagination be your guide.

Dick Martin is a retired biology teacher who has been writing outdoor columns for 30 years. You can reach him at richmart@neo.rr.com.